RIFT OVER MILITARY WIDENS AT MEETING OF EX-SOVIET LANDS

By FRANCIS X. CLINES,

Published: February 15, 1992

MINSK, Belarus, Feb. 14—
With Ukraine adamantly opposed to entering into a common defense force with the larger Russia, the former Soviet republics seemed to slip deeper into disarray today over the future of their new Commonwealth of Independent States.

Leaders of the 11-member commonwealth met in eight hours of private talks that officials later described as hardening their differences into two camps. One is aligned with Russia, which favors a single multirepublic conventional force as the successor to the Red Army, and the other with Ukraine, which fears a common defense could become dictatorial and is pushing ahead to form its own army.

Strong nationalist sentiment in Ukraine is making it virtually impossible for its leadership to agree to any common army with the Russians, who have dominated the 3.5 million-member former Soviet military. Nuclear Arms Not an Issue

"Today saw the formation of two distinct groups," said the Ukrainian President, Leonid M. Kravchuk, at a news conference at which he was joined by representatives of Belarus and Armenia.

The defense differences involve conventional forces, especially Ukraine's claim to parts of the Black Sea Fleet, but not nuclear weapons. The strategic nuclear warheads were once again pledged by commonwealth members to be under the care of the Moscow central command left from the defunct Soviet Union and the four republics that have them -- Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.

But in a sign of the continuing tension over conventional forces, the Interfax news agency reported that a wing of six combat planes had "defected" to Russia from an air base in Ukraine. Kravchuk-Yeltsin Talks

While contending that the meeting was marked by considerable progress, Mr. Kravchuk demonstrated his mistrust of the commonwealth approach by charging that parts of the Black Sea navy and merchant fleets were being secretly sold by profiteers and that Ukraine was being targeted by propaganda from Radio Moscow.

He made the charges at a news conference notable for the vagueness of the progress that was claimed and for the absence of President Boris N. Yeltsin of Russia and seven other republic leaders.

In the back of the hall, officials of the rival republics and news photographers were exchanging reports that President Yeltsin had been seen looking unsteady on his feet at the end of the meeting and needed help to get to his limousine. His press office has repeatedly denied past reports that the Russian leader is given to alcohol abuse.

The commonwealth meeting is to be followed this weekend by talks between Mr. Kravchuk and Mr. Yeltsin, with the Ukrainian leader asserting that considerable progress is being made on common economic policies.

But the defense split between the two seems increasingly severe. Yeltsin aides were warning even before the meeting that Russia might soon be forced to create a large independent army of its own because Ukraine's position was undermining the commonwealth force Mr. Yeltsin prefers.

Ukraine was reported to have been joined by Azerbaijan and Moldova in favoring independent armies, while Belarus expressed constitutional reservations about a commonwealth defense force and Uzbekistan also reportedly had some reservations.

Russia was apparently joined by Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Scores of documents have been signed at the three commonwealth meetings thus far. But these have proved to be largely amorphous statements of unity principles.

The major military problems are to be taken up again at the next commonwealth meeting, March 20 in Kiev, Ukraine. But today's talks seemed to offer little hope of progress there.

The military issue itself is a distraction from the even larger problem of how the commonwealth might coordinate the various fragmented policies of the republics to spark a resurrection of their desperately ailing economies.

"So far, we are signing documents and agreements," President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan said before the conference. "But there are no instruments of control and no mutual obligations." He stressed that the main point of the defense issue should be managing a huge military establishment made increasingly restless by the politicians' dispute over its future.

At the news conference, Mr. Kravchuk accused a reporter of inviting unrest in the military by simply asking a question about the rising concern that the politicians' split over the army might lead to severe strains in society.

The Ukrainian leader insisted that considerable progress had been made today and that too much attention was being paid to differences between himself and Mr. Yeltsin. But he underlined these differences at the news conference, saying Moscow was misrepresenting Kiev as demanding the entire Black Sea Fleet when in reality it wanted only its fair share. The Yeltsin Government has been no less adamant in saying it will retain control of most of the fleet.

The sale of parts of the merchant fleet and navy was being attempted "in secret," he charged, saying he had presented documents to prove this at the commonwealth meeting.

Mr. Kravchuk's language as he arrived at the conference was focused on the military dispute. "If Russia does not give, it will stifle Ukraine," he declared. "Russia is capable of stifling Ukraine, but we both would perish, and Russia would perish one day later."

Photo: Leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States met yesterday in Minsk, Belarus, but failed to resolve significant differences. President Leonid M. Kravchuk of Ukraine, who opposes entering into a common defense force with Russia, conferred with a Ukrainian naval officer. (Associated Press)(pg. 4)